Cleaning up dust in industrial spaces, especially combustible dust, can be a real headache. Sure, you’ve got the usual options like sweeping, vacuuming, or washdowns, but one method that always stirs up dust discussion is using compressed air blowdowns.

So what’s a compressed air blowdown? Basically, you start at the highest points in a facility and blast dust down with compressed air so it lands on the ground or a surface where you can vacuum or sweep it up. It’s not really cleaning the dust... It’s just moving it. That’s why some folks jokingly (or not so jokingly) call it the “dust redistribution service.”

Now, don’t get us wrong, compressed air has its uses, but it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all cleaning tool. There are rules (like those in NFPA 660) that lay out when it can be used. Here’s the gist of what you should check before you even think about a blowdown:

• Try every safer cleaning method first—wash, vacuum, sweep.
• Make sure the remaining dust isn’t piled up too thick.
• Use pressure-relief nozzles on air hoses to keep pressure below 30 psi.
• All electrical gear in the area should be rated for hazardous locations.
• Shut off or remove any ignition or heat sources.
• After blowing down, actually clean up the remaining dust.
• If you’re dealing with metal dust, follow extra metal-specific rules.
• Keep fire protection gear active and ready.

Bottom line? The standard basically says: don’t use compressed air until you’ve tried all the safer ways, and even then, only do so with a ton of caution. In some cases, “a ton” is literally just a thin layer of dust, like less than the thickness of a credit card.

The big downside of using compressed air is that it turns dust into a floating cloud. That dust hangs in the air longer than you might think and eventually settles somewhere else, sometimes after you think you’re done cleaning. So instead of removing dust, you might just be moving it around. You may have become a master of the "Industrial dust shuffle".

However, blasting dust into the air isn’t just messy - it can be dangerous. Dust clouds + oxygen + an ignition source = a recipe for explosions. People often forget that moving dust around might tick off several boxes in the “explosion pentagon,” which is definitely not where you want to be.

When you’re cleaning a place up, the goal is to remove dust, not just shuffle it around. If you have to use compressed air, do it thoughtfully and safely. Otherwise, you’re just trading one problem for another … potentially bigger one.